I don’t cover baseball anymore. Of course, I miss it. I love baseball. I played it, my father coached it, I have coached my sons for more than a decade. It’s ingrained. However, it was time for a change when I left the Rockies beat in April 2014. I needed to be home more with my family.

When it comes to Colorado sports, there are the Broncos and everyone else. I am lucky to chronicle football again (I covered the Broncos from 1996-2000). I haven’t looked back. But I still watch baseball coverage closely on this day. That’s because I haven’t lost my baseball Hall of Fame vote. I take the privilege seriously.

The 2016 Hall of Fame class will be announced Thursday at 4 p.m. Ken Griffey Jr. is considered a lock. (Troy E. Renck/The Denver Post)

As I have said in this space before, it is a wonderfully challenging exercise, an obstacle course of statistics and debates. My ballot is not perfect. Does one exist? This year my ballot was slightly different.

I voted for Larry Walker for the first time.

Walker is the most talented player I have ever covered. His 1997 National League MVP season was breathtaking in every way from baserunning to defense to his rifle arm and 49 home runs. I said no to Walker in the past because his statistics fell short because of missed games. He averaged 124 a season. Had he avoided injury or played more when the Rockies were eliminated Walker would have posted no-doubt Cooperstown numbers.

So why now?

It’s the ballot, and the new rules. With a slew of candidates reaching the Hall in recent years — Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Craig Biggio, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson — it created room for Walker when choosing 10.

I haven’t always marked the box for the full amount. It made sense this year. And with Walker, I want him to stay on the ballot to generate conversation about his candidacy. I can’t promise I will always vote for him but I’d like to see his candidacy marinate longer as voters analyze his numbers and wrap their minds around the impact of Coors Field. (Playing in Denver, in my opinion, hurts Walker’s candidacy more than it helps, which is a shame because he could hit in the desert or on the moon).

Walker’s voting totals have plunged toward him falling off the ballot over the past five years (5 percent is required):20.3 percent in 2011
22.9 in 2012
21.6 in 2013,
10.2 in 2014
11.8 in 2015

Remember the rules have changed. A player can now only remain on the ballot for 10 years, compared to 15 in the past. So perhaps I am gaming my ballot. But I believe Walker deserves to be part of the debate this year whether he gets in or not.

My 2016 Hall of Fame ballot. (Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post)

As for a deeper explanation on my ballot, I offer my past blog post on the matter:
“I have not endorsed known steroid users, and that did not change this year. My standard, which will be understandably questioned, is to leave out those who tested positive, admitted using or have an avalanche of evidence against them through federal investigations.
So I said no to Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. I realize my logic will be criticized with those insisting that my ballot does include PED users. They could be right. But I am not basing my vote on speculation or rumors.

I have covered the major leagues since September of 1996, and as a traveling beat writer since 2001. Those who took steroids had a clear advantage over those who didn’t. I respectfully disagree with writers who insist “that everyone was doing it.” That’s insulting to clean players who ultimately pushed the union to agree more stringent testing. I will give two examples of why I cannot endorse known steroid users.

I had a minor league player, not on the Rockies, approach me in spring training in 2004. We were talking about roster spots, and the difficulty of making a team. He said he would have never made it to the big leagues a few years prior if he hadn’t been placed on the 40-man roster. There’s always truth to this given the team’s investment. He said it wasn’t that — it was because he could take steroids. He had been tested in the minor leagues while not on the 40-man roster, but found himself competing in spring training against players who were not subject to the same rules. This was the culture baseball created.

A former Rockies player relayed a more sobering story. He was a good player, but conflicted. A few of his ex-teammates from his amateur days had gone on to great success in the pros, posting Nintendo numbers because of performance-enhancing drugs, he claimed. He couldn’t bring himself to cheat, citing family and health concerns. Eventually, he ended up clinically depressed, requiring medication. So no, I don’t think everyone was doing it. Even if many were, I still don’t see how that provides justification. If your child was in a class were 25 of the 45 kids cheated and your child didn’t would you believe in rewarding those who bent the rules? Your child gets a B, those 25 get A’s and you are OK with that?

When Mark McGwire admitted his use prior to returning to the big leagues as a coach, he admitted he was never going to get into the Hall of Fame because of his actions. And if everyone was doing it, thus a non-issue, where are all of the players speaking out on behalf of steroid users? Why aren’t they voicing their opinion?

I believe it’s because they know it was wrong. Baseball didn’t test for PEDS, but steroids were illegal in society for decades, and sprinter Ben Johnson’s disgraced Olympic episode brought a spotlight to their use in 1988. Taking them was a way to go outside the rules to enhance performance. Even if some players insist it didn’t help them, that was the intent. They didn’t take them to decrease their performance.”

My Hall of Fame ballot. I used all 10 spots this year. (Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post).

Voting for the Hall of Fame is a wonderfully challenging exercise, an obstacle course of statistics and debates.

When I color in the box next to a player’s name, I am endorsing his career for the highest individual honor possible. It’s not about one season, or snippets of years, but the body of work. My ballot is not perfect. I am not sure one exists.

I have not endorsed known steroid users, and that did not change this year. My standard, which will be understandably questioned, is to leave out those who tested positive, admitted using or have an avalanche of evidence against them through federal investigations.

So I said no to Barry Bonds – I am not sure how you could read “Game of Shadows,” detailing Bonds’ detailed drug regiment and conclude he wasn’t using – Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa. I realize my logic will be criticized with those insisting that my ballot does include PED users. They could be right. But I am not basing my vote on speculation or rumors.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.